Senior care in Fort Wayne, IN: Plan and Choose Help

Start with tasks and personal preferences

Write a care brief with your relative, where possible. Describe the help needed with meals, shopping, laundry, bathing, dressing, movement and appointments. Record preferred visit times, communication needs and routines the person wants to keep. Identify the duties family members will cover and the gaps you want paid help to fill.

Give agencies concrete examples. Explain whether you want someone to prepare lunch, stay during a family member’s absence or assist with a transfer. Ask the assessor to identify staffing and qualifications for each task. Describe medication duties by name and ask who can perform them under the proposed care arrangement.

Check the agency and the assigned worker

The Indiana Department of Health licenses personal care services agencies for attendant care, homemaker services and companion services at a client’s residence. It includes shopping, laundry and meal preparation among homemaker tasks, and transportation and escort services among companion tasks. Use the consumer directory on its licensing page to check the agency you plan to hire. [3]

Indiana requires qualified home health aides to appear in the Indiana Aides Registry. HHAs perform home health services ordered by an authorized clinician and work primarily with home health or hospice agencies. Ask an agency offering these services who orders the care and supervises the aide. [4]

Request the assigned HHA’s name for a registry check. Indiana identifies active status as eligible for employment, expired status as ineligible until renewal, and a finding as prohibiting work as a CNA, QMA or HHA. Check the individual worker separately from the agency. [4]

Compare quotes against the same schedule

Request written quotes against the same task list and visit schedule. Ask each agency to state its hourly or visit rate, minimum booking, assessment charges, transportation charges and cancellation terms. Ask whether weekend and overnight work changes the price. For overnight help, specify whether you need an awake caregiver and ask how the agency handles interruptions.

Ask who arranges replacement coverage after a missed visit. Request details about background screening, insurance, supervision and reporting concerns. Agree on who receives visit notes and who can authorize schedule changes. Set a review point after care begins to discuss whether the duties and hours fit your relative’s needs.

Build your caregiver budget from written agency quotes. Keep meal-program amounts separate from care charges when comparing options; ask each agency to price the duties that remain after you confirm any meal support.

Coordinate meal delivery and dementia support

AIHS offers home-delivered meals, site dining and a limited restaurant voucher program. Home deliveries contain five or seven frozen meals with milk, and AIHS offers diabetic-specific meals on request. Confirm delivery arrangements before changing paid care hours. Decide who will store, heat and serve the meals, and whether your relative still needs assistance eating. [1]

For dementia care, describe your relative’s routines and ask how the assigned worker handles distress, supervision and communication. Indiana requires HHAs caring for people with dementia or a related cognitive disorder to complete six hours of dementia training within 60 days of hire. Ask about the specific worker’s training and supervision. [4]

AIHS’s Family Caregiver Center offers telephone information and coaching programs, support groups and other caregiver resources. Its referrals go through the Aging & Disability Resource Center and can come from caregivers, relatives, friends or professionals. Discuss these supports alongside your plans for paid care. [2]

AIHS meal amounts: suggested donation and private-pay base price

Match the need to the next step

Your hiring checklist

1. Write the task list with your relative and record their preferred routines.
2. Identify family coverage and the gaps paid caregivers should fill.
3. Check the agency’s license and relevant worker registration.
4. Ask who assesses transfers, medication duties and other care needs.
5. Request a written quote with minimum bookings and additional charges.
6. Confirm replacement coverage, supervision and a contact for concerns.
7. Resolve meal-program eligibility and meal handling before changing care hours.
8. Agree on visit notes, schedule changes and a review point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do companion and homemaker agencies need an Indiana license?

Yes. The Indiana Department of Health licenses agencies providing companion, homemaker and attendant services at clients’ residences. Its licensing page includes a consumer directory. Ask for the agency’s legal name and license details so you can check the entity you plan to hire. [3]

Can my relative receive home-delivered meals without a participation fee?

AIHS says its Older Americans Act Nutrition Program has no participation cost and encourages a $3 donation per meal. Home-delivered meal eligibility requires age 60 or older and a staff nutrition assessment. AIHS notes that eligibility criteria can change with program requirements and funding availability. [1]

How do I check a home health aide’s qualifications?

Use the Indiana Aides Registry through the state’s HHA program page to search by name. Indiana identifies active status as eligible for employment, expired status as ineligible until renewal, and a finding as prohibiting work in the listed aide roles. [4]

Where can I raise concerns about agency care?

The Indiana Department of Health accepts complaints about licensed or certified entities, including personal service and home health agencies, and investigates eligible complaints. Its personal care licensing page explains the complaint route. Keep dates, visit details and communications when documenting a concern. [3]